The Still Small Voice...

Sitting in Mass yesterday for the Feast of The Assumption, I was reminded of God's call to our own Blessed Mother.
He did not come in the thunder, the wind, or anything else, but in a still small voice.
Sure He sent an angel, but Mary had to listen to that still small voice within her heart to say her "yes" to our Lord.
I can only imagine her joy when her Blessed Son brought her up body and soul into heaven and made her Queen of Heaven and Earth!

Kneeling in Thanksgiving after Mass, I asked Our Lord and Our Mother to help me to listen more intently to this still small voice and so knelt in silence.

There is nothing more consoling than kneeling before the tabernacle and the crucifix and not praying with words but with the heart. Praying with the heart is more than being silent it is not even saying or thinking of words in your head, but just making yourself available to "be in the True Presence of our Lord" .

The peace and consolation are unspeakable. It is a sort of contradiction in itself, because although He does not take away the crosses which are so vital to our sanctity, one can learn to love their crosses in the slience of His heart, because He gives an understanding or wisdom that makes it easier to accept the crosses and actually learn to embrace them because it is made known to one that it is only HE who knows best and if He knows best what do we have to fear?



Stay with me, Lord
Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina after Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have
You present so that I do not forget You.
You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak
and I need Your strength,
that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life,
and without You, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light,
and without You, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice
and follow You.Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You
very much, and always be in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is,
I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches.
It is necessary to renew my strength,
so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You.
It is getting late and death approaches,
I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.
O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need You.
Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,
so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,
the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You,
if not by communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it,
but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!
Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart,
Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.
With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth
and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.
Amen.

His True Presence!

Growing up, I never really truly appreciated Our Lord in the Eucharist as I do now.

Maybe it was a lack of understanding or wisdom but I think the Lord also knows how "dense" I can be at times and needs to give me a few extra graces or consolations here and there so I "get the picture".

Forgive me if this comes across as crass but it's the best way I know how of explaining it!

If you are someone who truly doesn't understand the True Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist, then ask Him to give you the wisdom to understand.

Not too long ago, a very holy friend of mine was comforting me because I was complaining that for some reason my local parish completely "forgot" that the first Tuesday of the month was their time to have Adoration.

I am someone who has truly grown to love and crave Adoration so I was upset when I showed up along with about 20 other people and the Blessed Sacrament was not exposed! I explained to my friend how much I was looking forward to it and then nothing!

I told her though, for some reason none of us left, and we made a holy hour anyway over by the tabernacle. I told her that I understood Jesus was still in the tabernacle but I wanted to gaze back at Him!

She said, "My dear, what does it matter if you cannot see Him? He can still see you! And all He wants is for you to come and sit with him and pray!"

These words have been so comforting to me! And have encouraged me many times to stop by my local church on my way home or before I start a busy day to visit our Lord and ask Him for His guidance.

But my most favorite thing to do, is to just sit with Him in Silence! Oh, how He will inflame your heart! I thank God for my dear friend everytime I think of her words and wonder why I was so dense as to not figure that out myself!

The following prayer will help you to feel His presence more in the Eucharist:

Soul of Christ Sanctify me
Body of Christ save me
Blood of Christ fill my veins
Water from the side of Christ wash me
Passion of Christ strengthen me
Oh Good Jesus hear me
Within your wounds hide me
and never let me be seperated from thee
From the evil enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
and order me to come to You
so that with your saints I may praise You
World without end. Amen.

God bless you with peace and understanding!

~Erin